


Two Engagement Parties

by CheezLord12



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Engagement parties, Humor, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Multi, Perciver - Freeform, Post War, Romance, olivers dad sucks, the Weasleys forgive Percy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:34:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28453191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CheezLord12/pseuds/CheezLord12
Summary: This is the story of two engagement parties, both held at the burrow, two years apart.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Percy Weasley/Oliver Wood
Comments: 2
Kudos: 96





	1. Ginny and Harry’s Engagement Party

Sunday lunch was a post-war tradition for the Weasley family, one that was absolutely unpermissible to miss. Even Charlie was ordered to travel all the way from Romania, despite the fact that it took him several apparitions to make his way across Europe. Percy hadn't come at first, because he'd figured that no one wanted him there, taking up space where Fred should have been. Luckily, Ginny had set him straight, and he became a permanent fixture at the lunches. 

This Sunday, however, was a very special lunch, as it was doubling as Harry and Ginny's engagement party. No one was shocked at how fast Ginny had proposed to Harry after graduating from Hogwarts, except for Harry. Percy was ordered to show up early to help prepare the Burrow for guests, and he appeared at exactly 11, with a punctual  _ crack _ .

Casting his coat aside (it was much warmer than he'd expected), Percy made his way to the kitchen, where Molly, George, and Bill were bustling around. It turned out that George was almost as good at cooking up food as he was at cooking up pranks, and he'd started to take over the kitchen.

"What should I do, mum?" Percy asked, startling her.

"Oh! Percy, dear. You can start setting up tables, and hanging up the decorations." she gestured to a pile of red and gold decorations, everything from table covers to streamers.

Percy nodded and waved his wand a little, levitating the decorations to follow him out of the room and into the grassy field surrounding the Burrow. He'd soon distributed the tables uniformly across the lawn and laid the table cloths on them. He was hanging streamers in the trees, enchanting them to resist the wind, when he heard someone approaching in the grass behind him.

"You've got a knack for this, Perce." Ron said.

"It's just some basic charms." Percy said, not turning to greet his brother.

"No, really. It's quite complicated spellwork." said another voice, causing Percy to lose concentration and spin around.

"Hermione!" he greeted. "I didn't hear you."

She grinned, tossing her bushy hair back, the wind immediately pushing it into her face again. "I suppose Ron's footsteps do drown everything else out."

"Hey!" Ron protested, but he was chuckling nonetheless.

"Well, Mrs. Weasley sent us out here to help you, but it looks like you're about done. Shall we head back in and see what chore is next?" Hermione offered.

Percy nodded, muttering one last incantation before sliding his wand up his sleeve and accompanying them across the lawn.

"There were quite a few tables." Percy noted. "Do you know how many people are coming?"

"Ginny invited nearly the entire league, and Harry invited most of the department. That, along with all the Weasleys make about 200 guests." Ron explained.

Percy gave an impressed whistle, holding the door open for the two of them.

"Oh, Percy. You're done already?" Molly asked, glancing out the window as if she could check his work from far away.

"It looks great, mum." Ron reassured. "We didn't even need to help."

She sighed, but put it aside. "In that case, Percy, you should go get changed. People will be arriving soon, and I want you there to greet them."

Percy glanced down at his outfit, the nicest robes he owned. "Change? What for?"

Molly  _ tsked _ . "Don't be ridiculous, Percy. I have something picked out for you. It's up in your old room. You'd better hurry, you need to set out the silverware before people come."

Percy glanced at the clock. It was, in fact, getting dangerously close to the time people would be arriving, and he sensed that arguing with his mother would end badly, so he sighed and made his way up to his room.

Percy had to admit that the robes laid out on his old bed were very nice, but there was no way he would wear them.

_ That was one of the disadvantages of moving out, _ he decided.  _ His parents now had more money then they'd ever had, and lots of time to spend it. _

Still, his mother had enough on her plate. He really shouldn't bother her just because he didn't like the clothes she'd chosen for him. Sighing, he took off his robes and folded them neatly, changing into the dark blue robes.

Molly didn't spare him a second glance as he descended the stairs, but Ron and Hermione, who had been joined by Harry and Ginny, paused their conversation, all of them looking Percy up and down with strange looks on their faces.

"What?" asked Percy. "Have I got something on my face?" he raised a hand to his cheek wondering if he'd somehow gotten some glitter there from the decorations.

"No, Perce." Ginny assured. "You just look... very different."

"Good different." Hermione added reassuringly.

Percy shifted uncomfortably, hiding his hands in his sleeves. "Alright..." he said unsurely.

Just then, a loud shout was heard from outside. They all raced out of the door, and were met with a familiar sight.

Charlie, who, Percy noted, hadn't been forced to change, was setting out the silverware, but apparently doing it all wrong. Mrs. Weasley had a fork gripped in one fist, brandishing at Charlie. "-the  _ soup _ spoon goes first, Charles! Why is it so very difficult for you to understand?"

"Mum." Harry called. "Here, put that down." Showing massive amounts of bravery, Harry walked forward and carefully pried the fork from Mrs. Weasley's hand, setting it on the table. He then led her away, muttering softly about how Percy and Hermione and Ron would be happy to take care of it. He threw a look at Percy as he and Ginny escorted the harried Mrs. Weasley inside, back to the kitchen.

Percy peered at the table settings. "For Merlin's sake, Charlie. Everyone knows that the salad fork comes before the dinner fork." he swapped the silverware around until it was in its proper place. Ron and Hermione were both looking at him strangely, so Percy took that as a sign that not everyone knew that the salad fork comes before the dinner fork.

He cleared his throat. "Anyway, there's a spell for that." he waved his wand and the table setting straightened itself immaculately. He brushed his hand over the table, knocking everything out of place. It sprung back to perfection, meaning he'd cast the spell correctly.

The others looked duly impressed, and tried knocking aside the table settings themselves. "Where do you learn all these useful spells, Percy?" Hermione asked.

"Well, the one for the decorations I learned from mum, I think I saw her do it once."

"And what about this one?" Hermione gestured at the table.

"Ah-well, that one was actually taught to me by Penny-Penelope Clearwater, that is." Percy said.

"Wasn't that your old Hogwarts girlfriend?" Ron was grinning broadly now, mirth in his eyes. "Why did she know that one?"

"She wanted to be a wedding planner, I think." Percy said, moving to the next table to set it as well.

"You know, I think she might actually be on the list for the party today. She's an auror." Charlie said thoughtfully, mimicking Percy's wand movement. He threw a suggestive look at Percy. "You should try to find her and... reconnect."

Percy hummed noncommittally, turning away from Charlie, pretending to fiddle with a tablecloth. What Charlie didn't know was that Percy had no interest in Penelope Clearwater–he'd barely had any interest in her back at Hogwarts, it had been a very one-sided relationship.

No, his attentions were elsewhere at Hogwarts.

Percy realized he'd just cast the enchantment twice on the same table, and tried to shake his thoughts away. He estimated they had only a few minutes before the time that had been written on the invitation, and a few tables left.

"That's all!" Charlie called, mationing for Percy to join him in front of the Burrow. He was met by the rest of the family. He gave a short nod to his father, as he hadn't seen him yet.

"Percy, where'd you get those robes?" George asked teasingly. "Any place that can make clothes that look good on  _ you _ must be exemplary."

Bill smacked him in the chest. "Don't be so rude, George."

Molly cleared her throat. "It's 11:54." she informed them. "You all know your assignments?" She was met with blank looks and shaking heads, and her gaze traveled angrily to Arthur. "Arthur, you haven't told them? What have you been doing all this time, then?"

He cleared his throat guiltily and glanced at the garage. Molly rolled her eyes, and turned back to them.

"Alright, then. Bill, you and George will be in charge of the food. Keep an eye on it, make sure nothing burns, and serve when I tell you too. If you want, you can take a break to look after Victorie and Fleur can help George, but one of you needs to be there at all times. The rest of you–“

She gestured to everyone but the happy couple. "–you will mingle, make sure everything is running smoothly. If anything is going wrong, alert me immediately. If someone gets too drunk, there's sobering potion in the bathroom."

Finally, she turned to Harry and Ginny. "You two need to stay at the entrance for at least thirty minutes. Greet everyone. If you can't remember their name, end the conversation as quickly as possible."

Percy realized that Molly had forgotten an assignment, and he briefly debated keeping it to himself. Pointing out that the teacher had forgotten to assign homework had gotten him in trouble plenty of times at Hogwarts. But this wasn't Hogwarts, and this was important.

"Mother, you've forgotten Auntie Muriel watch," he pointed out.

"Ah, of course." she rubbed her forehead. "Well, I was going to make Charlie do it, for messing up the silverware–“ Charlie glared at Percy. "–but since  _ someone _ neglected to give everyone their assignments, I think he should do it." she looked coldly at her husband, who seemed to physically shrink.

There was a loud crack, and up on the hill, people started arriving. Molly looked at them all, alarmed. "Alright, it's time! Go!" she shooed them all away, bustling back into the kitchen.

Percy psyched himself up for the ensuing conversations as they stood in a neat line at the foot of the hill, allowing people to make their way down to them.

The first person to reach them was a very excited Deadlus Diggle. He clasped Harry's hand vigorously, eyes shining with tears. "My deepest, most sincere congratulations, Mr. Potter!"

Luckily, Harry was used to it by now, and he smiled back graciously and thanked Diggle for coming, passing him off to Ron and Hermione, who escorted him to the tables, chatting about how incredibly thrilled they were for Harry.

Slowly, the grassy lawn filled in and Percy slowly fell into a pattern. Greet someone, thank them for coming, and move on. As more of the younger people filed in (older wizards had a tendency to arrive on time for whatever reason), Percy felt more and more people looking at him. With each moment, he regretted not looking at himself in the mirror. There was no way he looked  _ that _ good. He was probably wearing a  _ Kick Me  _ sign that his siblings had neglected to tell him about.

At that thought, he reached his hand up to check for anything on his back. There was no sign of a paper. "Does your back itch?" came a lilting voice from behind him. Percy recognized the voice immediately, though it had been years.

"Penny!" he greeted, spinning around. He saw Ron give him a discreet thumbs-up from behind her, but tried to ignore him. "No, I was just wondering if there was a kick me sign. I feel like everyone's looking at me."

Penny laughed. "No, there's nothing there. I think everyone is looking at you because you look good."

Percy blushed and dropped his gaze to the ground, mumbling out a "Thanks."

"So, how are you?" she asked, searching his face as if it would give her the answer, though she should have known by now that it never did.

"Alright." Percy said. "I've been busy with my bookstore, and now helping my mum plan this."

Penny actually looked interested when she asked "You own a bookstore?"

Percy nodded. "Up in Hogsmeade. I started it a year back. Turned out ministry work wasn't for me." he laughed nervously. In all honesty, he had no idea if Penelope knew about his betrayal. They'd broken up after Gryffindor had won the House Cup and had only spoken once or twice since.

It seemed she didn't, as her brow creased a little. They fell into an awkward silence, and Percy was glad when Charlie tapped him from behind.

"Percy, sorry to interrupt, but a load of Ginny's quidditch mates just showed up. I'll need your help." 

Percy threw an apologetic look to Penny. "It was good catching up." he said, following Charlie up the lawn.

A large group of rowdy quidditch players were clustered together, surrounding Ginny and Harry. Ginny was laughing and talking loudly with them, her voice battling for dominance among the myriad of other voices. Harry stood by her, looking mildly uncomfortable.

The group of players noticed them approaching, and quite a few of them looked Percy up and down appreciatively. He resisted the urge to hide behind the much larger Charlie. One of the women stepped forward, extending her hand to shake. "Hello, I'm Morgan. You must be Charlie." she purred to Percy. He noted that she had a rather heavy American accent.

"Ah-no." Percy corrected, flustered. "I'm Percy. That's Charlie." he gestured to Charlie. Morgan turned to Ginny, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you said Charlie was the good-looking one." Ginny didn't even have the shame to look embarrassed as she shrugged.

"I guess he cleans up well." Ginny said.

"I'll say." Morgan said, once again looking at Percy. Percy wanted nothing more than to crawl in a hole and die of humiliation, but he pushed it away, trying to control his blush. 

He opened his mouth, unsure what he was going to say, when someone roared. "CHARLIE!" and a form came barreling out of the mass of quidditch players and tackled Charlie in a huge bear hug. "It's been too long, you bastard. I can't believe I haven't seen you since school!"

Charlie laughed loudly. "Oliver Wood, in the flesh." He clapped Oliver on the back, and Percy felt his heart skip a beat. Of course Oliver was here. He played in the same league as Ginny, and he was friends with both Harry and Ginny. Percy felt a familiar tug of longing in his stomach, which he supposed happened if you shared a dorm with someone for seven years and never admitted your feelings for them.

Oliver unwrapped himself from Charlie, and turned to face Percy. "And you! Share a room with someone for seven years and never talk again, eh?" Percy swallowed as Oliver hugged him as well, though not nearly as hard as he'd hugged Charlie. "I forgive you, Perce." he said graciously, leaning back.

Percy felt a familiar spark of annoyance. "Percy." he corrected instinctively. Then, a moment later he caught himself. "Sorry." he said, feeling his face go red. "Old habit. You can call me Perce." For some reason, Oliver laughed, and Percy realized that he was still wrapped in Oliver's arms. He stepped back carefully and looked at Ginny.

"Oh, yes." she murmured to Harry, her gaze moving back and forth between them. "They were roommates."

"Oh my god. They were roommates?" Harry asked back, no doubt unable to imagine the loud, bosterius Oliver living with the fussy Percy.

Percy ignored the exchange, and addressed Ginny.

"Should I take them down, or do you want to start the arm-wrestling contests now?" He was being sarcastic, of course, but some of the players looked at Ginny hopefully.

"Ha ha." she deadpanned. "You can take them."

Percy nodded, and motioned for them to follow him, Oliver still at his side. "So, Percy," Oliver started. Percy felt a little flicker of happiness hearing Oliver say  _ Percy _ . "What's it like at the Ministry?"

"Oh, I don't work there anymore." Percy dismissed.

"What?" Oliver demanded, horrified. "But the 40-point plan! You were going to be minister and make it illegal to hate quidditch!" Percy recalled the large poster that he'd hung up on the wall in their dorm, complete with every step he needed to become minister. Oliver had added the law about it being illegal to hate quidditch, and Percy had decided to humor him.

"I suppose you'll just have to become minister then, because I'm not doing it." Percy said, glancing at Oliver.

Oliver laughed, which surprised Percy. "The state of the world would have to be truly terrible for me to become minister." Oliver said to Percy, stepping over a root. Percy didn't have time to formulate a response before Charlie clapped Oliver on the back and engaged him in a conversation about Puddlemere. 

As the large group of quidditch players claimed several tables, Percy excused himself, making another round through the tables. He was speaking with an Auror about wand rights when his mother grabbed him by the arm. "Come help us in the kitchen." she ordered, dragging him back to the Burrow.

Inside, the kitchen was a mess. There were dozens of silver trays, each with an array of small canapes on it. "Take one, and start making rounds." she told Percy. "If you see any of your siblings, tell them to do the same." A little bit startled, Percy took a tray and, watching it carefully, he made his way outside. He found Hermione quickly and relayed the instructions, keeping one hand on the tray as people plucked the canapes off of it, Percy made his way to Charlie, scanning the lawn for more red heads. 

His tray was soon empty, and Percy hurried back to the now-full kitchen, picking up another tray. This time he found himself making his way to the loudest part of the party, the quidditch players. Once he was there, his tray was empty within seconds as the unruly group fought among themselves.

"Thank you, Percy." Morgan said, a broad smile on her face. She let her hand linger a moment too long on his arm before turning away. Percy swallowed, unsure how to stop her advances politely. He shook the thought out of his head, as he arrived at the kitchen once more. Molly greeted him, looking a little bit more calm, now that appetizers had been distributed without anyone dying.

"Go and socialize some more." she ordered. "Make sure everyone is happy." This sounded like absolute torture to Percy, but he allowed himself to be led back outside.  _ I'll stay outside for ten minutes, then say I need to go to the bathroom.  _ He told himself.  _ Hopefully that'll be enough. _

His spirits raised by the prospect of break, Percy smiled, saying a brief hello to all of his extensive family. He quickly whispered to Ron that he was going to the bathroom as he trekked up the lawn, hitching up his robes to avoid grass stains, though it was a bit late for that. 

"What's the point of having a party," he muttered to himself. "If you're just going to be working the entire time?"

"Well, it's for the guests, isn't it?" Oliver's voice startled Percy and he flinched, looking up. "Oliver!" he yelped. "I didn't see you there."

"I was just in the bathroom." he said, pointing his thumb up the stairs. Realizing that Percy probably needed to go to the bathroom as well, he shifted to the side. Percy knew that this was the signal for him to leave, but he ignored it.

"Oliver—Morgan, she plays for Puddlmere, right?" he asked instead.

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "Yes, she's a beater. She'll probably be capitan next year. Why? Did you want me to set you up?"

"No!" Percy exclaimed. "No, it's not that. I was wondering how I could get her to... back off?" he trailed off, a little embarrassed. Oliver laughed.

"I can tell her to back off, if you like." he offered, but Percy shook his head quickly. How terribly rude. "She's very persistent. She won't stop unless you tell her you have a girlfriend or you tell her to her face to stop." he warned, shrugging.

Percy sighed. It looked like he was going to have to avoid Morgan all day, because he was definitely not going to confront her head on. Oliver seemed to sense this, and he gave Percy a pat on the shoulder. "Good luck with that." he said, striding out of the Burrow.

Percy climbed up the stairs as slowly as he could, making a pit stop in his room, just to waste more time. He saw that his neatly folded clothes had fallen to the ground, and decided he  _ might as well _ clean that up, and if it delayed him going back to the party, so be it.

"Percy?" Bill whispered from behind him. Percy spun around to see him leaning in the doorway, watching Percy.

"Oh, hello, Bill." Percy said. "I was definitely not avoiding anything and I noticed my clothes weren't folded, so I decided to fold them."

Bill nodded understandingly. "I was just putting Victorie down for her nap." Percy nodded back, setting his clothes on the bed. "So," Bill ventured. "I saw you talking to Penelope Clearwater."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Yes, we were catching up."

"I hear you two dated after I left." Bill said, his lack of subtlety glaringly obvious. 

"Yes, we did. And then we broke up." Percy said flatly.

Bill nodded, a smile on his face. "Of course. Well, I have to get going. You should probably do the same before people start to notice you're gone." By 'people', of course, Bill meant their mum.

Percy nodded, letting Bill push himself off the doorframe and exit the room. 

After enjoying the silence for a moment more, Percy made his way back down the stairs, poking his head in the kitchen to see if they needed any help there. Fortunately, they declared that it was time to serve the food and enlisted him in doing so, setting up a buffet under a tent.

Lunch passed without a hitch as well, and as Percy started to vanish the dishes, he reassured himself that this was the home stretch. Just cake, and it would be over.

Almost as soon as he had the thought, Percy was accosted by his arch-nemesis.

Hestia Jones. 

Surprising everyone, she'd taken over Flourish and Blotts after the previous owner had died. She and Percy had been locked in a fierce competition for customers since then. "Percy!" she greeted, overly enthusiastic.

"Hestia." he returned, equally enthusiastic. "How are you?" What he meant was  _ How many customers do you have?  _ but he couldn't say that.

"Good!" she smiled hard at him. "How are  _ you _ ?"  _ How many customers do  _ you _ have? _

"I'm doing well, thank you." Ever since he'd started stocking school supplies, he'd started getting a lot more business from students who were running out of quills or parchment.

Percy was spared from another moment of conversation when loud laughter boomed out from the quidditch players area, startling the entire party and making several of the older guests glare in that general direction. He saw Molly gesturing at him furiously, and quickly excused himself.

"Get some sobering potion in them!" she ordered. Percy wanted to protest, but she was already gone, her wand tapping nervously in her hand.

He sighed, resigned to having to face Morgan again, and got the potion from the bathroom. As he approached them, he tried to pick out who was drunkest, knowing he wouldn't have enough of the stuff to be able to administer it to them all.

"Percy," Oliver greeted. "Need some help?"

Percy looked at Oliver, a little bit suspiciously. "You're not drunk, are you?"

Oliver chuckled. "No, but I know who is. I can help you give that out." He pointed at the bottle in Percy's hand. Percy nodded, letting Oliver take the potion and pour some out for those with the most flushed faces and most slurred speech.

Luckily, Morgan was not among them. and Percy was able to keep himself busy with administering the potion.

"Oh, blast." Oliver muttered. "There's none left."

"There are a few more in the bathroom." Percy said. "I'll go fetch them."

"I'll come with you." Oliver said quickly. "We can carry more that way." This was perfectly logical, so Percy nodded and accompanied Oliver up to the house. He noted that the grass had been trampled by so many comings and goings that a clear path had been formed right up to the door.

"I'm getting more potion, mum." he called into the kitchen. "Is there anything else?"

"No, dear. Just focus on that." came the reply.

Percy made his way up the rickety stairs, Oliver trailing behind him. They grabbed three bottles of the potion, just to be safe, and started their way back down the stairs, Oliver accidently knocking into Percy in the cramped space.

Percy didn't know why, but he released a breath when they emerged from the Burrow. There hadn't been much space in there. Oliver was silent all the way down the lawn, and as Morgan complimented Percy on his commitment and offered him a drink.

Percy evaded the conversation as politely as he could, not missing the amused smirk that Oliver was wearing. He was glad when the quidditch players had been sobered enough that he could return the potion to the bathroom.

"I'll do it." Oliver offered, holding out his hands. Percy noticed a bright red line peeking out from under the sleeve of Oliver's robe. Without thinking, he grabbed Oliver's hand and pulled down the sleeve. There was a long, thin cut on his forearm, dripping blood. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Percy noted that Oliver's hand was warm and calloused and quite nice to hold.

"Oliver!" he exclaimed. "When did this happen?"

Oliver tried to tug his hand away, but Percy held onto it. "I dunno." he evaded.

Percy  _ tsked _ . "Alright, sure. I'll come up to the house with you and clean it up. There are some bandages in the bathroom."

Oliver looked like he wanted to protest, but Percy channeled his inner Molly, glaring at him so hard he shut his mouth quickly. From beside him, Morgan looked between the two of them, her eyes lingering on their joined hands. "Oh, I see." she murmured.

"What?" Percy and Oliver asked simultaneously.

"Oh, nothing." she raised her eyebrows, taking a sip of her drink.

Percy felt like there was something more, but Oliver's cut was still bleeding. "Alright, let's go." he dragged Oliver up the lawn, walking into the Burrow for what felt like the millionth time that day.

"Mum!" he called. "Oliver's cut himself, so I'm just going to bandage him up. I'll only be a few minutes." There came no response, and Percy guessed his mother must have been outside. "Oh well." he muttered, leading Oliver into the bathroom.

The bathroom was by no means small, as it had accommodated 9 people at its peak, and Percy was able to maneuver to the medicine cabinet without brushing by Oliver. He pulled a bottle from the shelf, checking the label. "Drink this." Percy directed. "It will make you less dizzy." Oliver obeyed silently, taking a seat on the ground, his robes pooling around him.

Percy rummaged around some more, cursing his father and his new organization system. Finally, he found some disinfectant and bandages. "Arm." he ordered, turning to face Oliver. Oliver stuck out his arm, still silent. "This is going to hurt." Percy warned, taking a seat across from Oliver. "So, what have you been up to lately?"

Oliver looked a little surprised at the sudden change in topic, but he answered anyway. "Well, training mostly. The season starts in two weeks, you know."

Percy hummed. "Yes, I know. Are you planning on staying with Puddlmere next season?" Just as Oliver opened his mouth to answer, Percy dabbed at his arm to clean out the cut. Oliver hissed, blinking rapidly. 

"I—yes, I'll be staying with Puddlmere." He gritted out.

Percy nodded, dabbing at the cut again. "I think I saw something about you transferring in the  _ Prophet _ , but that's probably false."

"Yeah, it's false." Oliver said. "I don't know how that rumor got started."

"Okay, done with the painful part." Percy announced, leaning back. He found that he was reluctant to release Oliver's arm from his grasp, so he didn't. He felt Oliver's gaze on his hand as he reached up to pluck the bandage from the counter.

He didn't want to admit it, but Percy's fingers lingered too long as he slowly wrapped the bandage around the length of Oliver's forearm, using too much bandage for the relatively minor cut. When he finished, he brushed his fingers over the bandage one last time, making sure it was secure.

When he looked up, Oliver was looking, entranced, at where Percy's hands had been seconds ago. "Thanks." Oliver said. His voice was raspy.

"No problem." Percy said back, his eyes rising to meet Oliver's.

Percy knew they should probably stand up and go back to the party; cake would be cut soon. But they just sat there, suspended in a moment that stretched out for an eternity.

Finally, they were pulled out of the haze by a bird giving a loud  _ squawk _ from outside the window. Percy flinched. "We should–ah–get back to the party."

"Yeah." said Oliver. "Yeah, we should." Despite this agreement, both of them remained sitting on the floor. Percy felt his heartbeat speed up as Oliver started to lean forward, his eyes fluttering closed. He let instinct wash over him as Oliver's lips met his. Oliver tasted like oranges and mint, and Percy couldn't get enough of him. The kiss deepened as Percy leaned forward so that he was sitting on Oliver's lap, raising his hands to run through Oliver's silky hair.

Oliver whimpered into Percy's mouth, making Percy smile a little. He started kissing down Oliver's neck, leaving a trail of purple marks in his wake. Oliver whispered something into Percy's hair, but Percy couldn't hear it over the thudding of his own heartbeat.

" _ Ahem _ ." 

Percy pulled away from Oliver slowly, looking at the door. Bill was standing in the doorway, very unsuccessfully trying to hide his smile.

"Percy, there you are." he said. "Mum told me to come find you. We're about to cut the cake, and she wants you to do it since you're so... skilled with your wand." he seemed to realize the innuendo halfway through his sentence and trailed off, starting to turn red. Oliver coughed loudly, his shoulders shaking. Percy discreetly yanked on his hair, shutting him up.

"I'll be there in a moment." Percy said, hoping Bill couldn't tell how breathy his voice was. Bill smirked, meaning that he could, and nodded, turning and leaving the bathroom. Eyes wide, Percy turned to Oliver.

"I–“

Oliver smiled, kissing Percy softly. "Go," he reassured. "We can talk later." Percy nodded, clambering up and checking his appearance in the mirror once before rushing out of the bathroom.

There were several people clustered around the cake, looking impatient. Percy felt a twinge of guilt and pulled out his wand, determined to make the most symmetrical cake slices in the history of wizardkind.

"Sorry Mum." he said before she could say anything. "Oliver cut himself, and I was just helping him." Bill snorted loudly, which Percy chose to ignore as he sliced the masterpiece of a cake (he'd have to compliment George on it later) into pieces, which his family was soon distributing.

_ All in all. _ Percy thought as he folded up the tables later that day.  _ The party had been one of his favorites. _


	2. Percy and Oliver’s Engagement Party

After Ginny's engagement party came Ron and Hermione's, and then George and Angelina's until finally it was just Charlie and Percy against the world. When Percy finally announced his engagement to Oliver, Arthur was visibly distressed, knowing that he would be on Auntie Muriel watch once again. It had become something of a tradition. 

"Are you ready, Perce?" Oliver called out, glancing at the clock. He fiddled with the cuff of his sleeve, resisting the urge to fold it back.

He heard Percy say something, the sound muffled by the walls. He emerged a moment later, his robes swooshing around him merrily. Oliver couldn't help the small gasp that escaped from his lips. 

"What?" Percy asked. "What is it?" he raised his hands to his face self-consciously.

Oliver felt the grin spread across his face slowly. "Nothing. You just look amazing."

Percy blushed and dropped his hands. "You look good too." he muttered, his blush deepening. Oliver strode forward and put his hands on Percy's waist, kissing him softly. He felt the kiss deepen, but he pulled away. 

"We have to go." he reminded Percy, who nodded disappointedly. "But we can continue this later?" Oliver grinned impishly at Percy.

Percy grinned back, and grabbed Oliver's hand as they apparated to the Burrow with a  _ crack _ .

"Oh, there you are!" Molly cried, wringing her hands nervously. Percy and Oliver had hardly walked into the rickety house when they were accosted by the anxious Molly Weasley.

Oliver marveled how quickly Percy was by her side, a hand on her shoulder. "Mum, we're only two minutes late. It's fine." She nodded quickly, and shook him off.

"Well, you'd better see if anyone needs any help outside." She ordered Percy "Oliver, I hate to ask... but could you see if George needs any help in the kitchen?" she asked. Oliver gave her an easy smile, and joined George, who was waving his wand with a manic energy around the cake, icing appearing wherever he pointed it. 

"Hey, George." Oliver said softly, trying not to startle him.

"Oliver." George said back, not taking his eyes off the cake. "How are you?"

"Good," Oliver answered as he washed his hands. "You?"

George completely dodged the question, and instead asked "How does it look?"

Oliver examined the cake. It was Puddlemere colors, of course. Percy had objected at first, but when Oliver had pointed out that the alternative was Gryffindor colors, he'd relented. Oliver drank it in, from the heavenly smell surrounding it like a halo, to the delicate and precise rings of icing adorning it. He grinned. "It looks marvelous, George."

George grinned back, the anxious expression dropping from his face. "Course it does." he said confidently.

Before Oliver could formulate a cheeky response, Angelina barged in the kitchen, trailed by the rest of the family, except for Charlie and Mrs. Weasley. "Oliver!" she greeted brightly.

The suddenly very crowded kitchen was filled with greetings as Oliver hugged every member of the large family. George hovered protectively around the cake, looking murderously at anyone who came near it.

"What, are you done setting up outside already?" Oliver asked when he'd finally greeted everyone properly.

Harry nodded. "Yep." he said.

Oliver glanced at the clock, which said that there were still 52 minutes until the party started. "Well, what are we going to do with all this time, then?"

"I'm sure Mum will find us more chores somehow." Ron assured Oliver. "We just wanted to see you first. Percy was just telling us how good you look in those robes." Ron looked Oliver up and down.

Percy had become so immune to his brothers teasing that he didn't even blush, though he shifted a little. Oliver grinned at him and leaned forward to give Percy a short kiss on the lips. The entire room groaned, and just to annoy them, but also because he very much wanted to, Oliver wrapped his arms around Percy, kissing him passionately.

"Oh, come on!" George complained. "Not in my  _ kitchen _ !"

When Oliver and Percy broke apart, Oliver glanced at the disgusted crowd. "Oh, sorry. Was I bothering you?" He asked, stepping back from Percy. Ginny glared at him, and for a moment, Oliver feared she would start hexing him, but thankfully she remained where she was.

"What are you all doing in here?" Mrs. Weasley's voice cut into the kitchen and they all hastily turned to her. "You're supposed to be outside!"

"We already finished up out there, Mum." Bill explained. Mrs. Weasley looked unconvinced, and turned away, starting to make her way down the lawn. 

"We'll see about that." she growled, stalking away. The rest of the Weasleys followed her, exchanging worried looks. Oliver and George looked at each other and shrugged. 

"Well, can you help me while they do that?" George asked. Oliver nodded, and made his way to the knives, falling into an easy silence as they prepared the food. After about twenty minutes, Mrs. Weasley came back in, followed by everyone else.

"Turns out that when you have double the people, the party prep is much faster." Charlie explained. "So we have some time to waste. Do you need any help in here?" Oliver glanced at George, who was rinsing off a chopping board with an  _ Aguamenti _ .

"We just have a few things to put in the oven, but that doesn't need to be done until people start arriving." George told them, drying the board with a swish of his wand. "We can just relax for a while, if you like."

There were murmurs of general assent, and they traipsed their way to the sitting room. It was crowded, and Oliver ended up sitting on the floor, leaning against Percy's legs while Percy absentmindedly ran his fingers through Oliver's hair. Oliver tried not to let on how the small action made butterflies erupt in his stomach.

"So, do you have any plans for the wedding?" Hermione asked, leaning forward a little. Oliver glanced up at Percy and saw his own horror mirrored on Percy's face. Even planning this party, which they'd tried to keep small and private, had been an endless headache. The idea of planning a wedding, with toasts, and multiple events, and more people...

"Not soon." Oliver said finally.

Hermione laughed lightly, and the topic soon switched to the latest song by the Weird Sisters, which the family had surprisingly strong opinions about. Oliver soon zoned out, letting the conversation spiral into radio shows and inevitably, politics. He could tell Percy wasn't paying much attention either, by the way he was tracing intricate patterns on the arm of his cushy chair. Oliver flicked his eyes upwards and met Percy's, giving him a small smile. Percy smiled back at him, his eyes crinkling. 

They spent the next ten minutes or so trading secret glances as the conversation raged around them. Suddenly, the conversation halted abruptly. Mrs. Weasley was standing in the entrance to the sitting room, murder on her face. "What." she gritted out. "Are you doing? We only have twenty minutes, and the  _ gnomes– _ "

Oliver felt a soft tug on his hair, and he tore his eyes away from the ranting Mrs. Weasley. Percy tilted his head a little motioning at the stairs, and they slowly stood up, sneaking their way up the stairs while everyone else was busy looking at Mrs. Weasley with pale faces.

As soon as they were in Percy's old room, Oliver burst into barely suppressed laughter. Percy joined in, and the sound of their soft giggles drowning out the cachapony of excuses being made downstairs.

When they'd finally calmed down, the sound downstairs had diminished enough that they could no longer hear it, and they glanced at each other, wondering if they'd been missed yet.

Oliver checked the watch on his wrist, which confirmed that they still had fifteen minutes before the start of the party. "What do you want to do?" he asked Percy, keeping his voice low just in case.

"I believe you said something about..." he stepped forward. "Continuing this?" he raised his mouth to Oliver's, capturing his lips.

Oliver slowly sat down, doing his best not to let their lips part. Soon, Percy was in his lap, hands tangled in his hair, lips moving against each other's. Oliver had a vague thought that he and Percy should have been getting downstairs, for... the party? Percy dug his fingernails into Oliver's scalp, just hard enough to make it enjoyable, and the thought disappeared from Oliver's mind.

"Percy, don't tell me you've already–oh, not again!" Bill's voice cut through the hazy fog in Oliver's brain, and he felt Percy pull away quickly.

"Oh, hullo, Bill." Percy said calmly, though Oliver felt him tense a little. Bill made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat and shook his head.

"You need to start locking doors." He said. "And Mum's going mental. You need to get back downstairs." He lingered in the doorway, watching as they untangled themselves and Percy combed Oliver's hair with his fingers. Oliver would have appreciated the gesture more if Bill hadn't been glaring at them the entire time from the doorway.

Finally, they got downstairs and Bill led them outside, where everyone else was huddled. "Where  _ were _ you?" Mrs. Weasley demanded.

Oliver quickly tried to formulate a response. "Oh, we were just checking–"

"They were snogging in Percy's room." Bill said, his voice holding a hint of contempt. Percy smacked Bill in the stomach, but Oliver couldn't help the smirk that grew across his face. Percy saw it and smacked him as well.

Mrs. Weasley seemed more than a little scandalized by this. "Yes... well, don't... run off again." she took a breath. "Well, usual positions, everyone. You two–“ she pointed at Percy and Oliver. "–up to the hill. And Percy, fix your hair. I don't know what you've been doing–“ she cut off suddenly, because she knew  _ exactly _ what Percy had been doing. Her cheeks turned pink and she cleared her throat. "Yes, well, fix your hair."

Oliver heard Angelina snicker, and he traded a smile with her behind Mrs. Weasley's back. After listening to her list out the rest of the assignments, and hearing Mr. Weasley's startlingly loud groan at being put on Auntie Muriel watch once again, Oliver grabbed Percy's hand and walked with him up the hill, the wind making his robes whip around.

Oliver felt Percy's energy level slowly decrease as the seconds ticked away, and he gave Percy's hand a little squeeze. "Hey, it's not that bad. All you have to do is stand around and look pretty. You're already doing fabulously."

This made Percy crack a small smile, but it faded quickly. "I only know about half of these people, Oliver. My mother just invited everyone and their aunt, even though she  _ knows– _ "

Oliver cut Percy off. "It's only for a few hours, and it will make your mother happy. I believe in you." he gave Percy a small smile.

Percy nodded, taking a deep breath. "You're right. I'm being silly. I'll just stand here and let you do the talking." He squeezed Oliver's hand, and then, after a moment added softly, "Thank you, Oliver."

They stood in an easy silence for the next few minutes, letting the light wind ruffle their robes. In his mind, Oliver tried to predict who would apparate first and who would manage to be late despite the fact that the traveling time was only a few seconds.

At exactly 12 o'clock and one second, a loud  _ crack _ broke the silent air. Oliver plastered a smile of his face, and elbowed Percy, telling him to do the same. Thankfully, it was not Auntie Muriel who appeared in front of them, but none other than Morgan and Penelope. Oliver had been shocked to find out that they'd started seeing each other a year ago, but it made sense when he looked at it. 

His smile turned genuine as he greeted them, clasping Morgan's calloused hand in his own. "Congratulations." she said warmly before being led down the lawn to the tables by Ron.

The next person to apparate in was not so familiar. It was one of Percy's many relatives, one that Oliver didn't recognize. He forced a smile and shook his hand as the air filled with the sound of more and more people apparating in. The faces soon became a blur, and Oliver found himself repeating the same thank you's over and over, until finally a large group appeared together.

Oliver heard Percy gave a resigned little sigh as he spotted the quidditch team lumbering toward them. Oliver gave a loud hello, and was immediately pulled into a large group hug, his ears filling with a jumble of congratulations. Percy was pulled in as well, despite his protests, and it was a solid minute before Oliver was released from the mass.

"Good luck with this one, he's tough to handle." Maria, a beater for Puddlmere, said to Percy, giving Oliver a cheeky grin. She dodged the friendly punch he sent her way, and laughed loudly. She noticed something behind Oliver, and her face brightened.

"Ginny!" the quidditch players chorused loudly, moving on to talk to her as quickly as they had come. Percy released a breath, smoothing his robes.

"Oh, come on, Perce." Oliver reasoned. "They're not that bad."

"They're not." Percy agreed. "I think I'm just traumatized from Morgan flirting with me." he shuddered. 

"Percy!" A voice greeted. Oliver and Percy turned, a little startled.

"Ah, Seamus. How are you?" Percy said, his shoulders relaxing with relief. Oliver tried to recall how he was supposed to know Seamus, and he quickly recalled that he owned Honeydukes, which happened to be right next to Percy's bookstore.

"Doing well, mate. Congratulations." he turned to Oliver. "You wouldn't  _ believe _ how much he talks about you. Oliver said this, Oliver did this." he pulled an annoyed face, but his eyes sparkled with mirth. Percy glared a Seamus, his hand rising to rub the back of his neck.

"Seamus, is that you?" Harry had arrived, Hermione in tow.

"Harry! Hermione!" Seamus exclaimed. "How long has it been?" he moved away, letting them lead him to the tables, chatting loudly.

"Oh, yes." Percy muttered. "He was roommates with Harry and Ron."

Oliver tried to recall him from his now-hazy memories of Hogwarts, but he came up empty. "If you say so." he said to Percy, giving him a shrug.

Seamus seemed to be the last guest, and Percy and Oliver waited for ten more minutes before finally abandoning the hill to mingle some more. However, as they were turning to leave, there was a  _ crack _ , and a thin woman appeared, her greying hair pulled into a tight knot. Oliver smiled.

"Mum!" he hurried forward to wrap his arms around her. He pulled back suddenly when she didn't reciprocate in her usual fashion. He took in her face, the way her bottom lip was suppressing a quiver and how she wouldn't meet Oliver's eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked, stepping back.

She took in a shaky breath before responding. "Your father..." she faltered. "He won't be coming." she finished lamely.

"Oh, no." Percy said. "Is anything wrong?" Oliver felt a familiar feeling build up in his stomach, wiping his smile away. He reached out to take his mothers hands, giving them a light squeeze.

"No, Perce. Nothing's wrong." he said. He turned to address his mother. "If he doesn't want to come, that's his loss. That doesn't mean we can't have fun, yeah?" he tried for a weak smile, and saw it mirrored in his mother's face.

"I'm sorry, Oliver. I tried to talk to him, but he just wouldn't listen. I... I don't think he ever will." her eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them away.

"That's fine, mum. We don't need him. Come meet Percy's family, there's loads of them." He tugged her hand and made his way down the hill, motioning for Percy to follow him. After introducing his mother to Mrs. Weasley, Oliver and Percy took seats at their table, the silence between them heavy. Finally, Oliver spoke.

"My father doesn't like that I'm with another man." he said, meeting Percy's inquisitive gaze.

Percy's eyebrow raised a little. "But I've met him. He seemed fine."

Oliver turned away, heat flooding his cheeks. "Well, we didn't actually tell him you were coming in advance. We sprung it on him so he'd have no choice but to be polite." Oliver remembered the day vividly. The entire dinner, he'd been on edge, hoping his father would keep in line, not make a  _ comment _ .

Percy's lips turned down a little. "We... we don't have to talk about him right now. We're supposed to be enjoying ourselves." he swallowed forcefully, looking very much like they had different versions of enjoyment.

Oliver laughed at this, his chest warming at Percy's attempt to make him feel better. "That's right." he said. "I'm supposed to be protecting you from socializing."

"My hero." Percy said, tilting Oliver's head up to meet his eyes once again. "You're okay?" he asked, his gaze piercing into Oliver.

Oliver nodded just as Mrs. Weasley approached them with a tray of appetizers. She gave Oliver a kind look. "I introduced your mother to some people from the ministry. She seems to be getting along well with them."

Those words spoke volumes, and Oliver gave her a thankful smile, resisting tears. He plucked an appetizer from the tray, fitting the entire thing in his mouth unceremoniously. Mrs. Weasley squeezed his shoulder reassuringly before moving on.

The rest of the afternoon passed pleasantly enough, people approaching them almost constantly. Oliver found that besides Auntie Muriel, he didn't have much problem making small talk with people. Even Percy relaxed a little, entering a conversation with Hestia Jones that was both incredibly polite and incredibly callous. 

Finally, it came time to cut the masterpiece that was the cake. Oliver's teammates gave him appreciative looks when they saw the colors. As they cut into it, someone yelled  _ KISS _ ! Oliver thought it came from the quidditch players, but he couldn't be sure. He grinned and leaned into Percy, giving him what he intended to be a peck, but what quickly turned into a deep kiss. Oliver heard whooping and wolf-whistling and what sounded like Bill's palm hitting his face.

Finally, they broke apart and cake was distributed, Oliver and Percy indulging perhaps more than they should've. When the sun started dipping towards the horizon, and people started to apparate away, Oliver found himself feeling disappointed. He'd been enjoying the party quite a bit. Percy, on the other hand, looked more than happy to see people off, and when only Oliver's mother was left, he slumped in his chair, looking exhausted. 

Oliver nudged him with his wand. "Hey, you know it's not over, right? We have to help clean up." Percy raised his eyes up, using a hand to shield his eyes from the sun. 

"Alright." he said reluctantly, pulling out his own wand. He started waving it, expertly folding tablecloths in midair, returning the lawn to its former state in half the time it would have taken Oliver. As they walked up the lawn for the final time that night, they were joined by Oliver's mother, who still hadn't disapparated, unwilling to go back home.

"Mum," Oliver started cautiously. "If you don't want to go back home, you know you can stay with Percy and I. We'd be happy to give you the spare room for as long as you need." Oliver glanced at Percy, to see how he would react, but Percy was just watching him with a fond smile. He gave a small nod to Oliver's questioning gaze.

Oliver's mother, whose mood had lifted exponentially during the course of the party, smiled at Oliver. "Thank you, Oliver, but Molly has already offered me a room here. I think I'm going to stay with her for a bit, and then... get my own flat."

Oliver stumbled a little as they finally entered the Burrow. "You're... not going back?" he asked, trying to keep his voice neutral. He'd been secretly hoping for years that his mother would leave his father, but he'd known not to pressure her into anything.

Oliver's mother raised her chin. "Yes, I am. I think it's been a long time coming, actually. This was just the last straw." Oliver couldn't help but think that his mother, despite being many years out of her prime, looked stronger than he'd ever seen her. He smiled to himself.

"Oh, Percy, Oliver. You can just put that down over here. You really didn't need to help with cleaning up, it is  _ your _ party after all. You can leave, if you'd like. Harry and George have already gone." Mrs. Weasley's voice greeted them as soon as they entered the sitting room. "And Fiona, I've made up Percy's old room for you. It's the third one on the left." Oliver wondered briefly who Fiona was, then realized that Mrs. Weasley was talking to his mother. It had been so long since he'd called her anything but mum, that he'd nearly forgotten her name.

"It's alright, mum. We can help you clean up if you'd like." Percy said, setting down his things.

Mrs. Weasley wrinkled her nose at him. "Really, Percy. I'm quite alright. You and Oliver go and enjoy your evening."

Percy gave a nod, turning to Oliver. "Are you ready to leave, or do you need to do anything?" Oliver didn't miss how Percy's eyes flicked briefly to Oliver's mother.

"Are you sure you're alright letting my mum stay here, Mrs. Weasley?" Oliver asked, furrowing his brow. Mrs. Weasley  _ tsked _ and waved her hand dismissively.

"There's plenty of room, and it's been much too long since anyone has stayed here. I won't hear another word about it." she said with finality. Oliver nodded, resigning himself to the situation. He gave his mother a hug, and squeezed her hand before apparating away with Percy.

_ All in all.  _ He thought as he was squeezed through space.  _ The party had been one of his favorites. _


End file.
